The Million Dollar Plan
Found money is always a good thing. It’s easy to spend the $5 I discovered tucked into a lost corner of my purse. I can even conceive smart ways to splurge with a hundred dollar gift. However, what would I do if I found 1 million dollars and had to spend it all in one day? For that, I need a pre-planned response…
A pre-planned response (or PPR) is standard operating procedure for anyone who has been long enough in the military. It was one of the few activities I fully endorsed.
What’s the benefit of having a PPR?
Well, in the case of being in the Navy, when the proverbial Shite hits the fan and everything is chaotic, fire raging out of control on the least favorable environment imaginable–the confines of a metal box floating miles from land in the middle of the ocean– it is best if your response to the fire, or whatever else is happening that isn’t normal, not be something that you have to figure out on the spot. Especially not if you are bleeding, or disoriented, or in the dark, or short a hand because someone is injured, or any number of near-catastrophic scenarios the Training Team could cook up.
In this case, your near-catastrophic scenario is a million dollars landing in your bank account.
Pop quiz, hotshot: you have 24hrs to make it disappear, or it will disappear. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO? (extra points if you read that in Dennis Hopper voice)
What is the first thing I would do? Get rid of all the debt that has been lingering over me like the Sword of Damocles. Gone. Poof. It’s not much, but it’s more than I have money for right this second. Then I’d get rid of any debt my mom had and any my bro had.
Then I’d set up trust funds for both my children and I’d buy a house. Not here in the states, but by the sea, somewhere sunny. Like Mexico. Or Guatemala or Costa Rica. Or Jamaica. Nothing extravagant, because this money won’t be around forever, but somewhere I could travel to even on my own dime, and probably pay the taxes on it in advance for the next 20 years or something, if that is even possible.
Then I’d buy a cruise around the world for me and my kids, all expenses paid (complete with tour guides) set up in every country so all we had to do was show up and not have to worry about anything. Then I’d shop online for all the clothes we would need for this massive voyage and have them shipped to me. Shopping online would be faster than trying to shop in a store in person, and time is money… literally.
Even with all this spending, I don’t think I’d end up spending all of it. After all it is 1 million dollars… What would you do with that much cash all at once??
